Cotton-baling press.



NVENTOR 3 Sheets-Sheet l.

Patented July I6, I90l.

W. M. THOMAS.

COTTON BALING PRESS.

(Appl nflldOt 25 1900 (No Model.)

A} J WITNESSES.

No. 678,630. Patented July l6, l90l.

W. M. THOMAS.

comm KALING PRESS. (Application filed 0a. 25. 1900. (No Model.)

3 Shoots-Sheet 3.

W I NESSES;

[NVENTOR 9, Q mfim/vmgwr s,

THE -cams r-nzns 00,. mom-um Warren Srarns Arnnir Orrrcn.

WILLIAM M. THOMAS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THOMAS COTTON COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

COTTON-BALING PRESS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 678,630, dated July 16, 1901.

Application filed October 25,1900, Serial No. 34,306. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM M. THOMAS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois,have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Ootton-Baling Presses; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention is an improvement in cottonbaling presses for producing a coreless cylindrical bale or a bale in which the bat is wound spirally upon itself without the use of a core or mandrel; and it consists in the novel features hereinafter described, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one form in which I have contemplated embodying my invention and a slight modification thereof, and said invention is fully disclosed in the following description and claims.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l represents an end view of a press embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is afront view of the same. Fig. 3 is a detail view of a part of themachine, showing the arrangement for driving the revolving heads. Fig. 4 is an enlarged View of a portion of the machine, showing one of the side frames, the two vertically-mow able rollers, and the resistance apparatus therefor. Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 5 5 of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a sectional view on line 6 6 of Fig. 4. Fig. 7is

an enlarged view of one end of the machine, partly in section, showing the mechanism for driving the rolls and one of the revolving heads. Fig. 8 is a sectional view of a portion of one of the end frames and the mechanism for supporting one of the revolving heads. Fig. 9 is a detail view of a part of the apparatus, showing a modified form of the resistance mechanism.

In the drawings, A represents the main frame of the machine, which is provided with two vertically-disposed end plates at, each of which is provided with inclined upwardly diverging guides a and with abearing-sleeve a, located centrally adjacentto the upper end of the end plate.

B represents a stationary shaft which is mountedin the bearings a.

O represents the lower or non-movable compressing or bale forming roller, which is mounted rigidly upon a shaft 0, supported in suitable bearings formed in the main frame.

0 O? represent the two upper compressing or bale-forming rollers, which are mounted rigidly upon shafts c and 0 respectively, each of said shafts being journaled in bearings d, secured to sliding blocks D, engaging the inclined guides a a of the end plates before referred to. The guides a a. are preferably of dovetailed construction, and the blocks D D are provided with dovetailed grooves engaging said guides. ,It will thus be seen that if the rollers O O are moved upwardly their supporting journal-blocks D will traverse the inclined guides a and the said rollers will be moved farther apart. (See particularly Fig. 4.)

Motion is imparted to three bale-forming rollers O, O, and C by the following mechan= ism: Upon the shaft 0 of the stationary roller 0 (seeFig. 7) is mounted loosely a sleeve 0 i provided with a driving gear-wheel (J and a second gear-wheel O formed integrally therewith or rigidly connected to said sleeve, so that these two gear-wheels will revolve together. The shaft 0' of the roller 0 is pro vided with a gear 0 and the shaft c of the roller 0 is provided with a gear 0, both of said gears being in the vertical plane of the gear 0 Motion is imparted from the gear O to the gear 0 by means of an idle gear 0 mounted on a stud 0 which stud is connected by links 0 c with the shaft 0 and by links 0 c with the shaft 0, so that the motion shall always be transmitted no matter what position is assumed by the roller 0. Motion is similarly transmitted from the gear 0 to the gear 0 by means of an idle gear O mounted on a stud 0 which is connected by links 0 with the shaft 0 and by links 0 with the shaft 0 I provide a'clutch mechanism between the driving gear-wheels O and the shaft 0, so that the rotation of said shaft and the lower roller 0 may be stopped without stopping the rotation of the upper rollers. In this instance I have shown the gear-wheel 0 provided with ing-arm f a clutch member 0 and a movable clutch member 0 is splined on the shaft 0 and is capable of being moved upon said shaft into and out of engagement with the other clutch members.

I provide the following mechanism for retarding the upward movement of the rollers O C as the bale is formed between them and the lower roller, so that a great degree of pressure or tension will be exerted upon the bale while it is being formed. To this end I provide the two upper rollers with what I term a resistance mechanism for retarding the upward movement of said rollers. On each side of the machine I provide a vertical guide-bar E, the upper end of which may be conveniently attached to the stationary shaft B, and in the present instance I have shown the upper end of each guide-bar E provided with a bearing or socket e, secured to said shaft B. Upon each of-the guide-bars E ismounted a vertically-sliding block F, to the upper end of which are secured two links f, each having a bearing-sleeve f at its upper end, the one engaging the shaft 0 and the other engaging the shaft 0 A hole or recess f is formed in the sliding block F, and the block is provided with an eccentric grippingcam F, pivotally mounted in said block on a shaft f said cam being arranged to extend through the aperture f in the block F and come into frictional contact with the guidebar E, as clearly shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 6. The cam F is also provided with an operat- Secured to each of the blocks F is a downwardly-extending rack F which racks engage the pinion g, rigidly secured upon an equalizing-shaft G, which extends from one side of the machine to the other. By means of this construction the vertical movement of the two blocks F, and therefore the opposite ends of the movable rollers, will be maintained exactly uniform.

When the blocks F and rollers O C are in their lowest positions, the operating-arms f f of the cams F F will engage stationary tripping-bars H, secured to the main frame, as shown in Fig. 2, thereby turning the cams so as to cause them to firmly grip the guidebars E E. When the machine is started and the bat is fed in between the bale-forming rollers, the upper rollers must move upward in order to accommodate the increasing size of the halo, and this upward movement of the rollers will be resisted by the frictional grip of the cams F upon the guide-bars E, thereby subjecting thebales to great pressure. As the bale increases in size the cam F will slip upon the guide-bars E and gradually allow the rollers C C to move upward. When the said rollers have moved upward as far as is required for the production of a bale of the desired size the arms f of the camswill engage stationary projections I-I, secured to some part of the frame, in this instance the vertical guide-bars E, and cause the cams F meat to turn in a direction to release their grip upon the guide-bars E. After the bale has been removed the upper rollers will descend by their own weight, and when they reach their lowest positions the arms f of the cams will again strike the tripping bars or projections H, thus forcing the cams to frictionally grip the guide-bars E, when the machine is ready for the production of another bale.

In Fig. 9 I have illustrated a modification of the resistance mechanism for opposing the upward movement of the rollers, in which F represents one of the vertically-sliding blocks adapted to work on the guide-bars E and connected by links f f with the upper baleforming rollers. The block is provided with a depending rack E, which engages one of the pinions g on the equalizing-shaft G. In this case the equalizing-shaft G is provided with a friction drum or wheel G in connection with which there is arranged a strapbrake G the free end of the strap being operated by a pivoted lever G, upon which is hung an adjustable Weight G It will be seen that the upward movement of the rollers will be communicated to the equalizing-shaft and will be resisted by the friction-brake, thereby causing the rollers to exert a down Ward pressure upon the bale while it is being formed. By varying the size of the weight or by moving it to different positions upon the lever G the resistance, and thereby the pressure upon the bale, can be varied.

I have also shown means for automatically operating the clutch member C It is obvious that it could be thrown in and out by hand, but in some cases it is desirable to have it operated automatically. In this instance I have shown a cylinder J, in which is located a piston provided with a piston-rod j, which is connected to a bell-crank leverj, one end of which is provided with a yoke engaging the clutch member.

K represents a supply-pipe for supplying fluid under pressure, said pipe being controlled by a valve is, from which extend pipes to opposite ends of the cylinders J for admitting the fluid to opposite sides of 'the piston.

70 represents a controlling-lever connected to the valve k. andprovidedat its outer end with a yoke, through which slides a vertical rod L, connected to one of the sliding blocks F and provided with adjustable collars Z Zfor :engaging said lever and moving itup or down, according to the direction in which the rolliers are moving. in their lowest position, the upper collar Z will engage the valve-lever 70 and turn the valve, so as to admit fluid under pressure to When the upper rollers are the upper side of the piston, thereby throwing in the clutch. When the rollers have reached their highest point, the lowercollarl will engage the lever 70 and turn the valve,

so as to admit the fluid to the lower side of the piston,and thus throw out the clutch.

The effect of throwing out the clutch is to instantly stop the lower bale-forming roller 0, and as the two upper rollers continue to rotate the bale will be rolled out of the machine, thus permitting the upper rollers to descend.

I also provide a revolving head at each end of the bale-forming rollers for the purpose of preventing the longitudinal expansion of the bale beyond the ends of the com pressing-rollers, and I find it advantageous to positively drive these heads in the same direction that the bale is rotating, at the same time mounting them in such a way that they will remain constantly concentric with the coreless bale. In this connection see Figs. 3, 7, and 8. M represents one of the revolving heads, which is secured to a shaft m, mounted in a sleeve m, secured to a link m which is connected to one of the bearingblocks for one of the upper rollers. m represents a second link, which extends from the shaft m to the opposite bearing-block, so that as the upper rollers move upwardly the revolving head will be raised sufficiently to keep it concentric with the bale. The sleeve m is adapted to slide vertically in a guiding-slot 0 formed in the end plate a. The shaft 1% is also provided with a spur-gear m which is driven in the desired direction from a gear 0 on the shaft 0 by means of suitable intermediate gearing connected to the shafts c and m by means of links in a manner similar to the idle gearing for driving the upper bale-forming rollers. In this instance I have shown two intermediate gears m m for transmitting rotary motion from gear G to the gear m said intermediate or idle gears being carried by links, as shown, so as to permit the vertical movement of the revolving head.

By driving the heads positively at the same or greater speed than the bale-forming rollers I accomplish a number of useful and important results. When the first portion of the bat is fed into the press at the commencement of the formation of a bale it Will be revolved and wound up spirally by the rotating heads before the bale reaches such a diameter as to be affected to any great extent by the rollers, thus insuring a more regular and compact winding of the central part of the bale. hen pressure between the bale and formingrollers begins to be felt, the bale will expand longitudinally, and its end portions will be forced tightly against the driven heads, which thereafter will exert a tendency to turn the bale within the rollers as there is a certain amount of slip between the rollers and the bale, and the cotton will thus be driven or stretched very tightly and evenly onto the bale. WVith this construction there is no lagging of the bale at its ends, and the bale produced has greater density at the circumference than can be obtained by the use of either stationary or loosely-revolving heads. By using positively-driven heads I am enabled to use smaller bale-forming rollers and to dispense with the corrugations with which such rollers are usually provided.

In operation the bat is introduced between the bale-forming rolls by means of an inclined chute N, preferably formed of two parts, the one telescoping within the other, and the parts connected by bolts a, passing through slots at in one of the said parts.

The blocks D D of one of the upper rollshafts, in this instance shaft 0, are provided with upwardly-extending arms d which carry the shaft 0 of a feeding-roller 0, said shaft being provided with a pinion o gearing with the gear 0 The lower end of the chute N is connected to the shaft 0, and by reason of its telescoping construction it is capable of accommodating itself to the vertical movements of the upper rollers. The bat is fed into the press between the feed-roller O and the bale-forming roll 0.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Let ters Patent, is-

1. In a cotton-balin g press, the'combination with the stationary and movable bale-forming rollers, a guide-bar and gripping-block, one movable with respect to the other, connections between the movable part and said movable rollers and a frictional gripping device on said block for engaging said guidebar, substantially as described.

2. In a cotton-baling press,the combination with the stationary and movable bale-form ing rollers, a guide-bar and gripping-block one movable with respect to the other, connections between the movable part and the said movable rollers, a frictional gripping de vice on said block adapted to engage said bar,

and means for automaticallythrowing said gripping device into and out of engagement with said bar, substantially as described.

3. In a cotton-baling press, the combination with the stationary and movable rollers, of a stationary guide-bar, a movable block on said bar, connections between said block and said movable rollers, an eccentric-cam mounted on said block in position to frictionally engage said bar, and means for throwing said cam into and out of engagement with said bar, substantially as described.

at. In a cotton-baling press, the combination with the stationary and movable rollers, of a guide-bar adjacent to each end of said movable rollers, a sliding block on each of said guide-bars, a frictional gripping device on each of said blocks for engaging said guidebars, and an equalizing device for causing said movable rollers to move equally at their opposite ends, substantially as described.

5. In a cotton-balin g press,the combination with the stationary and movable rollers, of a guide-bar adjacent to each end of said movable rollers, a sliding block on each of said guide-bars, a frictional gripping device on each of said blocks for engaging said guidebars, an equalizing device (comprising a shaft extending across the machine and provided at each end with a pinion and a rack engag- IIO ing said pinion) and connections between said racks and said movable rollers, substantially as described.

6. In a cotton-baling press, the combination with the stationary and movable rollers, of a guide-bar adjacent to each end of said movable rollers, a sliding lock on each of said guide-bars, a frictional gripping device on each of said blocks for engaging said guidebars, a rack secured to each of said blocks, an equalizing-shaft extending across the machine and pinions rigidly secured to said shaft and engaging said racks, substantially as described.

7. In a cotton-baling press, the combination with the stationary and movable rollers, of a resistance mechanism connected with the said movable rollers, revoluble heads connected with said movable rollers, and means for positively driving said heads, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix, my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

WILLIAM M. THOMAS.

Witnesses:

EDVVY LOGAN REEVES, WILLIAM HARGRAVE REEVES. 

